In Friday’s win over the San Francisco Giants, the New York Mets hit five home runs. On Saturday, the tables turned as the Giants hit six home runs as the Mets dropped game two of this weekend’s series 9-5. Rookie pitcher Zac Thornton allowed four of those home runs, both coming against Giants hitters Rafael Devers and Christian Koss. Anthony Molina struck out six Mets batters over five innings, and New York could muster only one hit against him. The Mets are now 64-78 on the season.

Zac Thornton vs. Braves

Thornton Has Rough Day

Thornton entered Saturday’s outing with a 2.93 ERA in 11 starts in his first season in the big leagues, but on Saturday, Thornton fell victim to the long ball and the hardships of being a rookie pitcher. It didn’t help matters for Thornton when Devers greeted him in the first inning with a solo home run. The Mets gave Thornton a lead in the bottom of the second inning on an A.J. Ewing two-run home run, but Thornton allowed a two-run home run in the top of the third inning to Christian Koss as the Giants went ahead 3-2. 

After retiring eight in a row and it looked like Thornton would settle in, Koss struck again with his second home run of the day in the top of the fifth inning. After a Jonah Cox single, Devers notched his second home run of the game, and third of the series, to the opposite field for a 6-2 Giants lead. Thornton went five innings and allowed four home runs and seven hits. His ERA went up to 3.53.

AJ Ewing Back in the Lineup and Contributes  

Speaking of Mets rookies, it’s been a rough patch for A.J. Ewing for a while now. Ewing entered the game on Saturday batting .126 in his last 23 games with 29 strikeouts. With Nick Morabito called up, and Juan Soto off the injured list, plus manager Andy Green giving him a “reset”, Ewing did not see the field over the last two games. He was in there and playing center field and had his best game at the plate in almost a month. 

With the Mets down 1-0 in the bottom of the second inning and Marcus Semien on first base, Ewing notched the only hit by a Mets batter off Molina, launching a changeup over the right-field wall for a two-run home run. Ewing hit it at 105.7 MPH and 407 feet. Ewing also walked twice and scored two runs. A lot of eyes will be on Ewing in the season’s last month to see if he can take Saturday’s game and turn it into a good finish for his season. Especially with the way Carson Benge is playing. 

Mets Offense Halted

Aside from Ewing, the Mets weren’t able to follow up a five home run performance on Friday as they were held in total to just four hits against Giants pitching. Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Bo Bichette, and Benge were all left hitless in the loss. The Mets went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position, and their best chance with the game still in reach came in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Mets loaded the bases with one out. However, Francisco Alvarez struck out swinging, and after Brett Baty walked in a run to make it 6-3, Lindor grounded out to end the Mets’ rally.  The Giants would pull away in the eighth and ninth innings with home runs by Osleivis Basabe and Grant McCray. 

Player of the Game: AJ Ewing

Ewing returned to the lineup after a few games off with a two-run home run and two walks.

On Deck: 

After Thornton and Nolan McLean, the Mets will now turn to Christian Scott on Sunday afternoon against Cesar Perdomo. The game will begin at 1:40 pm EDT and will be televised locally on SNY and broadcast on WHSQ 880AM.